Ambode: I Have No Personal Links with Frozen Lagos Accounts

• Says he served Lagos well with utmost dedication, integrity

Gboyega Akinsanmi

Former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has declared that he did not have any personal links with the three accounts of the state government frozen on Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over suspicious movement of N9.92 billion.

Ambode’s clarification was contained in a statement issued yesterday by his media aide, Mr. Habib Aruna, in reaction to the allegation that the accounts were fraudulently opened by his administration.

Justice Chuka Obiozor of a Federal High Court had granted the EFCC an order freezing the sums in the three accounts.

The EFCC had claimed that only about N320 million “are now left in the three accounts as at the time the freezing order was secured.

The funds are domiciled in First City Monument Bank, FCMB, account number 5617984012; Access Bank account number 0060949275 and Zenith Bank account number 1011691254, respectively.

But in the statement yesterday, Ambode noted that no personal account of his contained N9.9 billion, let alone being frozen by the anti-graft agency.

He said in the spirit of Sallah and having served Lagos State well with utmost dedication and integrity, his record was very clear and his mind joyful for the opportunity to have served the State diligently.

Ambode said while he did not intend to join issues with the anti-corruption agency at this time, given that there had been no communication between him and the commission on this issue, it was pertinent to clarify what he believed was a misleading import of the press statement on Tuesday.

According to the former governor, the accounts in question that were frozen by the Federal High Court “belong to the Lagos State Government and not him or any individual.” 

The statement clarifies: “Those accounts were opened in the course of normal operations by the Lagos State Government for its administrative purposes and not for the former governor’s personal transactions as was being wrongly insinuated and have been operated to ensure smooth operations of government activities by previous and present administrations. 

“The former governor was not and will never be involved in any unauthorised use of government property and resources. We strongly believe that after four demanding years as Chief Executive of Lagos State, Ambode is entitled to some deserved rest with his family and loved ones without the unwarranted attacks on his well-earned reputation.”

Ambode noted that at this critical time in our polity, all hands should be on deck “to support our great party both at the state and national levels in order to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to Lagosians and Nigerians respectively.”

He, therefore re-assured Nigerians that he “remains committed to the ideals of Buhari and the founding fathers of the party for the attainment of the next level for Nigeria.”

He prayed that the lessons of Sallah would serve as a catalyst for the much-needed bond and spirit of brotherliness among all and sundry in our great country.